Chapter 39. The Zhuge Family (1)
At those words, Father gently interjected.
"I understand. These people hold important positions within the Merchant Group, so it's not easy to give an immediate answer. I'll get back to you as soon as possible, so please rest for now. I will have a comfortable room prepared for you."
"Thank you for your consideration."
The person from the Zhuge Family followed behind the adjutant that Father had called.
A brief silence fell over Father's office.
"Chief Yoo, so that letter… was an invitation?"
"Yes."
He replied, also with a dazed expression.
"A man named Zhuge Hyeonri from the Zhuge Family has invited me and Young Master. He says he wishes to talk about poetry. He really hopes we'll accept, and if we do, he'll send a carriage and escort."
"Oho!"
Father was delighted, as if it were his own matter.
"Then of course we must accept!"
"But my poetry is rather poor…"
"What are you talking about! You're far too modest! If your poetry were truly poor, would the Zhuge Family go as far as sending a carriage and escort to invite you?"
"..."
"And to be honest, I was a bit upset after reading your poems."
"Pardon?"
"To think you hid such a gift for beautiful poetry…"
"Well, that's…"
"In any case, accept the invitation! You must accept it! Absolutely!"
To be honest, this was an invitation we couldn't refuse.
The Zhuge Family—what kind of place was it?
A great Murim noble family based on the western side of Hubei Province, in a place called Yongjung Mountain, or rather, Crouching Dragon Mountain.
It was a place no less significant than the Wudang Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects of Murim, located at Wudang Mountain—one of the Three Great Taoist Sanctuaries.
To fall out of favor with them would make operating just as difficult as being targeted by the government.
In other words, it meant we needed to build a connection with them at all costs.
And now, an unexpected opportunity to form such a connection had arrived.
.
.
.
That afternoon.
After finishing work and returning to my quarters, I stood by the window and let out a sigh.
The Zhuge Family…
Their current prestige was incredible, but to me, it felt complicated. In my previous life, the Zhuge Family had all but been annihilated.
And if my memory served me correctly, this Zhuge Hyeonri was the former head of the Zhuge Family—the Retired Head.
The reason my father and the others didn't realize from the name Zhuge Hyeonri that he was the Retired Head was because of one thing.
Zhuge Hyeonri was a name he used to conceal his identity—a sort of alias.
Knowing that future, I couldn't help but feel conflicted about being invited to the Zhuge Family.
But that didn't mean I could refuse.
For now, the Zhuge Family was still standing strong.
And so, a few days passed.
Perhaps eager to speak with Chief Yoo as soon as possible, Zhuge Hyeonri—the Retired Head of the Zhuge Family—promptly sent a carriage and escort.
Before our departure, Father gave me a word of advice.
"I feel a bit more at ease knowing you're going with him. As you know, Chief Yoo is not very articulate, and that might end up working against him."
"Hahaha."
"Please take good care of Chief Yoo."
"Yes. I will do my best to assist him."
And with that, Chief Yoo and I set off for the Zhuge Family.
***
A room within the Zhuge Family.
A middle-aged man was receiving a report from someone.
"…That is all."
"Alright. Anything else of note?"
"Ah, Master Hyeonri has invited some guests."
"Guests?"
"He's invited the author of the Little Evil's Poetry Collection that's been making waves lately. They should arrive tomorrow."
"I see. That old man is really something. A man of the Murim world who enjoys poetry…"
"Shall we proceed with our plans as is? What if the guests catch on…"
"It doesn't matter. If even the family members haven't noticed, how would outsiders? And even if they did notice, what could they possibly do?"
"Understood."
"Anything else?"
"Ah! Lady Yua…"
"What? Did she beat up the trainees again?"
"…Yes."
***
The carriage came to a stop.
"We've arrived."
Soon the door opened, and Chief Yoo and I stepped out of the carriage.
In front of us stood grand buildings lined up in rows.
Our Merchant Group was fairly wealthy, but this was on a completely different level.
Chief Yoo's eyes visibly trembled as he took it all in.
But I felt rather indifferent.
In the future, the Eunhae Merchant Group would also begin erecting buildings of this scale.
But this place…
Damn Murim Alliance! That damned White Heaven Merchant Group!
Thinking of that suddenly gave me a stabbing pain in the back of my neck.
"You must be tired from the journey."
Palgap asked with concern as he looked at me.
"Ah, well, yeah, sort of."
"Then you should rest quickly…"
"We must greet the one who invited us first."
I glanced at Chief Yoo, but he still hadn't recovered his senses.
Even if he lacked social skills, this was unusual.
Was the impact of the Zhuge Family's estate really that overwhelming?
I should just step up.
"We would like to greet the one who invited us. Could someone guide us?"
At my request, those who came to receive us answered,
"Yes, we'll inform them. But first, please head to your lodging."
"Thank you."
We followed their lead to our accommodations.
Thinking about how these buildings—so grand they even overwhelmed Chief Yoo—would all turn to ashes in the future, made me feel unexpectedly bitter.
The lodging was excellent.
Even better than my own quarters in the Merchant Group.
Though the Zhuge Family avoided showy decor, the luxury was undeniable.
"As expected of the Zhuge Family!"
Palgap said excitedly.
"Oh my! Isn't that an inkstone made of Duanxi stone? To have one in a guest room! What an extraordinary place!"
"Huh? It really is? How do you know it's a Duanxi inkstone?"
"You explained it to me before, Young Master."
Come to think of it, I did have a Duanxi inkstone I bought from that old man Ghost Mask Officer's general store.
Still haven't used it…
In any case, the elegance of the room made it clear we were being treated as honored guests.
They say all guests should be treated with sincerity, and that's not wrong.
But in reality, there are levels to that sincerity.
When hosts fear backlash, but don't care to be truly welcoming, they just provide the bare minimum for lodging—that's the lowest tier of treatment.
Subordinates of guests who are somewhat useful or important are middle-tier guests.
And, someone truly important to the household is a top-tier guest.
The guests usually understand this hierarchy, so there's rarely any complaint.
Based on this, we were being treated as top-tier guests.
Perhaps because we were guests of the Retired Head?
While we were unpacking and sipping the tea provided, a maid came to see us.
"The Retired Head has granted you an audience."
.
.
.
Chief Yoo and I followed the maid toward the Retired Head.
Chief Yoo whispered softly to me.
"So this Zhuge Hyeonri is the Retired Head… This is quite surprising."
"It is indeed."
I wasn't surprised.
Because I already knew.
"Then, does this mean I really do have a talent for poetry?"
"Yes. Why don't you believe me when I say you do?"
"It's just… hard to believe."
The walk to the Retired Head's residence was quite far.
Most likely, due to the customs of Murim noble families or sects, the guest quarters were deliberately situated far away.
After all, we were still outsiders, so letting us stay in the inner quarters of the family would be out of the question.
Because of that, we ended up passing by the quarters of the trainees.
Just then,
Whack! Whack!
"Waaah!"
"Next one, come out!"
A sharp, high-pitched voice rang out, and I instinctively turned my head.
A girl, dressed in white martial robes with her hair tightly tied up, was holding a wooden sword high.
Ah…
I know that girl.
Seeing her, the maid leading us chuckled awkwardly.
"The trainees are just full of passion, that's all."
Judging by her expression, this clearly wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
But was that young lady always like that?
She was so different from the person I remembered that I began to doubt my own eyes for a moment.
But she was unmistakably the same girl.
Unlike sects, noble families like this are composed of blood relatives. That meant these trainees were all likely descendants of the Zhuge Family.
Or they were the children of those associated with the family.
Smiling, I spoke.
"She must be a daughter of a collateral branch."
At my question, the maid's face stiffened slightly. In noble families, especially, the distinction between direct and collateral lines was strict.
So her reaction meant…
"She is Lady Zhuge Yua, the daughter of the Family Head."
"Ah! I apologize. That was disrespectful of me."
"It's alright."
So, she really was the one I knew.
We resumed walking.
In the future, the Yugang Merchant Group, one of the Ten Great Merchant Groups, had two especially famous figures.
One was the Merchant Group Leader.
The other was the Leader's personal guard, Yua.
That guard, despite being a woman, was renowned as one of the Top 100 Martial Experts under Heaven.
Beautiful, yet seemingly devoid of emotion, her lack of smile earned her the title The Jade Maiden Without a Smile.
And that very Jade Maiden Without a Smile was the daughter of the Zhuge Family Head?
That was something I hadn't known in my previous life.
As the daughter of the Family Head, surely many people must have recognized her face—so why was her identity never revealed?
Just then—
"Hey!"
Thud thud thud!
The sound of running footsteps came from behind.
"Stop right there for a second!"
With that shout, she blocked our path.
Her sudden action startled both of us. But ignoring our confusion, she looked straight at me.
"You, who are you?"
The maid quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Lady, these people are guests of the Retired Head. Please be respectful."
"They're Grandpa's guests?"
"That's right."
Normally, upon hearing that, she should've apologized and stepped back.
But it seemed that sort of basic courtesy didn't exist in her current mindset.
"It's fine! Grandpa likes me!"
"..."
She looked at me and said,
"You! You're strong, right? Spar with me!"
From her words, it seemed she had sensed that I was trained in martial arts.
But that's only possible if you yourself have reached a certain level of mastery.
For a girl that young to sense it—it left me feeling something hard to describe.
Regardless, I couldn't cross blades with her here.
She was the daughter of the Zhuge Family Head, one of the Eight Great Noble Families of Murim, while I was merely the son of a merchant group leader from Hubei.
If she were even slightly injured—how could I possibly handle the consequences?
I prided myself on being a realist.
"I'm afraid I'm just a humble merchant. I only learned a bit of martial arts as self-defense. To spar with the precious daughter of the Family Head? That's completely out of the question."
"It's fine!"
"I'm the one who's not fine. I cannot accept such a suggestion, please take it back."
"I said it's fine!"
Even Chief Yoo and the others around us were visibly flustered.
But this reckless young lady was completely unrelenting.
From what I knew, the members of the Zhuge Family were known for their calm and composed personalities…
Was she really the daughter of the Zhuge Family?
Either way, I was starting to get irritated.
I was tired, and I simply wanted to have my audience with the Retired Head and rest—yet I was being blocked like this.
"It seems Lady Yua has no idea what consequences her actions might bring."
"Do I need to know that?"
"Let me ask you something. Are you truly a member of the Zhuge Family?"
"Of course I am! I'm Zhuge Yua! My surname is Zhuge, so of course I'm part of the family."
"And yet someone with the name Zhuge is showing no concern for what her actions might bring upon her family? I find that absurd."
I continued speaking.
"If you carry the name Zhuge, then you must consider the weight of that name. It is a name of privilege, but also a name of duty."
"I don't like that kind of thing."
"Then, you can simply discard the name Zhuge."
At my words, something flickered across Lady Zhuge Yua's face for a moment.
Did I imagine it?
But I was sure I saw it—an expression of sadness.
What was that?
I felt puzzled, but the moment didn't last.
"So, if I discard the name Zhuge, will you spar with me?"
Her following words were, once again, the naive ramblings of a clear-headed lunatic.
Which made me wonder if I had just imagined that earlier look on her face.